Grundon condemn Chieveley incinerator refusal

In a statement released to Newburytoday.co.uk, Grundon said it was considering its next steps following the refusal of proposals to site an energy from waste plant in Old Kiln Quarry, near Junction 13 of the M4.
"We are also surprised with the planning process which has led the council to determine such a significant proposal under officer’s delegated powers," the statement read.
"We still firmly believe in the merits of our scheme. We are currently reviewing the decision and officer’s report and will decide on our most appropriate course of action in due course.”
The proposals drew a wave of anger across the district unprecedented in recent history after being exclusively revealed by the Newbury Weekly News in January 2011.
The outlined energy from waste incinerator, potentially capable of burning 350,000 tonnes of commercial, industrial and municipal wastes, had been proposed for Old Kiln Quarry in Chieveley, near Junction 13 of the M4, with a location deemed pivotal to having trucks trundle loads from right across the south via the motorway.
The decision came almost 16 months after the application was first submitted, and delighted the thousands of campaigners across the county and beyond who had contributed to over 3,000 letters of objection and thousands more names on a submitted petition.
Impact on the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the huge adverse impacts on the region were the main reasons given for the refusal, as a report by the council said only under exceptional circumstances could development be allowed inside a protected area.
"The proposed major development is considered to be contrary to the policies in place at a local, regional and national level that aim to protect the AONB, a landscape identified as having the highest level of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty, from inappropriate development," the report read.
For more on this story see this week's Newbury Weekly News.